africa Flashcards
why is africa a heterogenous continent?
it has different colonial historys for example, spain britain and france
there are different geography and climates for example deserts and rainforests, landlocked and coastel
there are ethnic diversity.
different country size and population size
what was the divergence of fortune?
there was a huge divergence between east asia and sub- Saharan africa and there was also a divergence within sub Saharan africa
what is the situation with life expectancy in SSA?
life expectancy is rising but is still the lowest in the world
what is the situation with literacy rate in SSA?
it is the lowest in the world
what factors explained SSA relatively poor economic performance in 1950-2000?
Legacy of slavery
Legacy of colonialism
Commodity export dependence - terms of trade volatility
Ethnic diversity / conflict
Adverse external influences - cold war (Horn of Africa)
Low international integration (globalisation)
Relatively low investment in physical and human capital
Unfavourable geography / climate
Urban bias and neglect of agriculture
The natural resource curse
Unfavourable demographic influences
Internal political instability and lack of leadership
Lack of physical and social infrastructure
Damaging economic policies
Too little / too much foreign aid
what was the case for aid?
there is a vicous circle and poverty trap models - there will be a savings gap with means there will be low investment and capital accumulation which then leads to low productivity and then there will be low income. aid will fufill this gap of low savings
what were the politics, policies and institutions in SSA?
Dictatorship & extractive institutions
Poor governance - weak states
Corruption and bribery
Predation - on natural resources
Civil wars / conflict (P. Collier, Oxford)
what is bill easterlys critique of aid?
as aid as a percentage of gdp grows the per capita growth of Gdp decreases
what is the effect of slavery export countries on real gdp per capita?
those who were low slave export countries had higher levels of gdp per capita growth then high slave export countries
what was the colonial legacy?
investment by colonists geared towards extraction such as railroad development
education was confined to a minority needed for colonial administration
what was the result of the colonial legacy?
Extreme inequality– predatory extractive institutions (see Acemoglu and Robinson)
New ruling elites emerged after decolonisation
New elite maintained extractive institutional structures - institutional lock-in effect
Emergence of patrimonial power - patron-client politics based on ethnicity
Political elites often lacked political legitimacy
Ethnic fractionalisation - internal conflict and civil war - resource curse
Under-provision of key public goods by colonists
what is unfavourable about africas geography?
Climate - largest land area in tropics
Unable to transfer temperate region’s agricultural technology (see Jared Diamond)
Relatively poor soils
Disease ecology (high incidence of malaria)
16 Land-locked countries* (40% of SSA’s population live in LL countries compared to 3% in Asia)
Lack of navigable rivers
High transport costs - numerous borders to cross
how is the politics, policies and institutions in africa?
Dictatorship & extractive institutions
Poor governance - weak states
Corruption and bribery
Predation - on natural resources
Civil wars/conflict (P. Collier, Oxford)
how did africa from democracy to dictatorship?
after decolonisation there was a first generation of nationalist leaders. they wanted to transform their economies but they all became one party system. the western democracy may not of been suitable for africas conditions. one party overcame the tribal divisions and forged a new identity. a dictatorship was then put in place and leaders thought they were above the law. military coups were common. there was a rule by patronage and government became main employer in public sector
what were the destructive economic policies in Africa?
Excessive state interference, regulations and controls
Bloated public sectors
Sustained import substitution policies with comparative advantage defying bias & lack of global integration
Poor macroeconomic management - loose fiscal and monetary policies - inflation volatility
Neglect of agriculture and “urban bias”
